Harrisburg, PA Outdoor Lighting: Dark Sky Rules (2026)

Harrisburg does not use the term dark sky in its code, and § 7-331.9 prints no lumen cap, color temperature limit or shutoff hour. What it does regulate is where a fixture can be mounted and how the bulb is covered, in three parts.

Height. Under § 7-331.9(B), no luminaire, spotlight, or other light source within 200 feet of a dwelling or residential district can be placed at a height exceeding 25 feet above the average surrounding ground level. The limit does not apply to lights needed for air safety, lights intended solely to illuminate an architectural feature of a building, or lights for a publicly owned recreation facility.

Diffusion. Under subsection (D), all light sources, including signs, must be properly diffused as needed with a translucent or similar cover so the lighting element is not directly visible from streets, public sidewalks, dwellings, or adjacent lots. The same subsection bars hanging three or more bare incandescent light bulbs of 40 watts or greater along a public street or an abutting property.

Shielding and aiming. Under subsection (E), all light sources, including signs, must be shielded around the light source and carefully directed and placed to prevent the lighting from creating a nuisance to residents in adjacent dwellings or undeveloped residentially zoned areas, and to prevent the lighting from shining into the eyes of passing motorists.

Several other parts of the section round out the picture. Subsection (A) excludes streetlighting owned, financed, or maintained by the City or the state. Subsection (C) caps spillover onto residential properties at 0.5 horizontal footcandle at the property line. Subsection (F) prohibits flashing, flickering, and strobe lighting except for nonadvertising seasonal holiday lights. Subsection (G) lets the Zoning Officer require a lighting study by a qualified professional. Section 7-331.2(A) applies the chapter to all uses and activities in all zoning districts, and § 7-327.12 requires parking lot lighting to be certified against Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) or similar published standards.